Meeting Glenn
by StirlingLuci
Summary: Alexandria is hunting in the forest when she gets shot by Daryl on accident. Thinking she's being attacked, she runs. Knowing she's wounded, Glenn goes after her. Now, she is stuck in their camp until she is healed. Once she is cleared by Hershel, Alex plans on going back to her own group. But, where are they now? Do they even want her back? (Ps no Maggie yet. She comes later).
1. Ch 1 - Walkers In The Woods

**Alexandria's POV**

I walked quietly through the woods. I kept two knives in my hands. My left hand was by my side and my right was raised to the height of my chest. In my left, I held a 7 inch by the handle so the blade pointed behind me almost flat against my arm. In my right hand, I held by the blade ready to fly. I kept my eyes and ears sharp.  
It was approaching sunset; I needed to find a safe place. My eyes scanned for two things: geeks and shelter.

 _Crack._

I froze. Someone-or some _thing_ -had stepped on a fallen branch. I glanced down and breathed a sigh of relief. It hadn't been me. So...who did? I scanned fervently for a sign: of life, or death.

 _Shhk shhk shhk shhk_

The sound of leaves moving made my ears perk up. I silently shifted to the right. That was where it had come from. _Friend or foe? Human or walker? Alive or dead?_ I thought.

G _roan. Grunt._ Several other incoherent noises convinced me it was the latter. Finally, it came into view. It hadn't noticed me. I quickly, yet quietly moved to hide behind the nearest tree to wait for a good shot.

I glanced out. It paused sniffing the air. It had probably picked up my scent. It moved in my direction. I shrunk behind, breathing slowly trying to calm my beating heart. I gripped my left knife tightly. I bounced my right finding the perfect balance for the distance I was planning on throwing it.

Once it was at the right distance away, I spun away from the tree and into his line of sight. It made a happy grunt as I wound up and began to throw.

The concentration of getting the right spin, a certain amount of strength, the right angle, and judging all the other factors that would throw it off caused me to lose focus of my surroundings for a moment.

In that moment, my life changed drastically.


	2. Ch 2 - Geeks In The Forest

**A/N: So I looked at Chapter Two and Chapter Three were formatted weirdly... So I fixed it...sorry about that guys. I hope you are enjoying it! I will try to post Chapter Four soon!(and I will make sure it is readable) XD**

Glenn's POV

I was walking through the woods with Daryl looking for food while keeping an eye out for Walkers. _Well more like, I was looking for food while Daryl was watching for any geeks. Or as he says "babysitting". I'm not that bad. Sheesh. He needs to get over himself._ I think as I crouch down picking up mushrooms.

"Not that kind, you idiot!" Daryl's voice breaks into my thoughts. "You wanna poison us all?"

I roll my eyes as I drop it. I wipe my pants as I say, "Sorry, I'm not exactly a mushroom expert here. Maybe you should be the one picking."

He turned to glare at me. "Are you kidding me? You wanna die?"

"I can hold my own. I'm not completely helpless." I glared back getting seriously annoyed. _Why did everyone see me as stupid and weak? Sure I may not be as accurate as Daryl, as tough as Rick, or as dangerous as either of them, but that didn't mean I was useless or helpless._

Daryl just chuckled and turned his attention back to the woods. I sighed and went back to looking for food, which was mostly mushrooms and berries.

After a few minutes of finding nothing, Daryl whispered, "Hey, Glenn." I looked up. "Walkers." I stepped behind the nearest tree. I peeked out and saw that there was indeed a walker. It was sniffing in the air. _Great, it's picked up on us already._ To my surprise, it started walking in the opposite direction of us. _Is it going towards camp? No, camp is North. It is heading East. There must be something else out there._

"It's picked up the camp's scent!" Daryl whispered harshly to me, also having taken cover behind a tree. "We gotta get it before it finds the camp and leads others to it." He starts moving towards the walker.

"Wait! There is something else out there!"

"Yeah," he turned back at me annoyed. "More walkers." Then he continued his silent trek towards the walker.

 _One thing about Daryl. He doesn't like listening to people unless it's Rick, and it took him a while to get that kind of respect from Daryl. If only I could get him to listen. There might be another person out there._

"No, maybe a person. That is what it is smelling. Camp is north. It's headed East!" I whispered frantically.

He turned back again giving me a scary look. "Or maybe, it's just a deer or some animal. Would ya relax?" He pulled up his crossbow to aim, now that he was in range.

That was when everything went into slow motion. Or at least that was how I remembered it. It's funny how the mind can play tricks on you. What happened was a matter of seconds, yet it felt like a life time.

I saw the zombie start to fall as Daryl moved his finger. I started running to him once I saw the other person behind the geek. As Daryl squeezed the trigger, I attempted to jerk it causing him to miss. Unfortunately, I misjudged the distance. I only brushed the crossbow. As I fell and tuned out Daryl's profanity, I prayed that it was enough.


	3. Ch 3 - Not Cupids Arrow

Alex's POV

I felt the impact long before the pain; I fell to my knees bracing myself against the tree. I thought of where it came from before I thought to stop the bleeding. I questioned why they were trying to hurt me when I was obviously not a walker before I looked to see where it hit. That was just before the world turned silent. The world went into slow motion. I saw a blur coming towards me. _Are they coming to finish the job?_

I looked down to see where had embedded. It was stuck low in my shoulder. I breathed in. _It must be just above my lung._ I breathed out, more like coughed. I had coughed up blood. _Guess it did hit a lung._ I glanced up to see the figure getting closer. _Better get out of here before it reaches me._ I grabbed the arrow close to my flesh. Then I yanked down snapping it so that about an inch or so was protruding from my shoulder. I grunted. _God, that hurt._

I dropped it, turned, and ran. Though at this point my running was pretty pathetic. _If I can just get to camp, I'll be fine._ The world began blurring. I could hear footsteps. _At least my hearing is coming back._ I had to keep going though. I tripped over a root. My reflexes, dulled by the pain, failed to catch me. I fell flat on my face. A muffled scream ripped from me. I coughed up more blood. The pain was spreading as I attempted to stand.

The world began spinning. I heard a voice as I fell on my side. Tears were streaming down my face when I looked up. A face appeared in my line of sight. _What a baby face. How did he survive this long?_ Were my first thoughts. _Nature sure has a sense of humor._ I thought as I realized this must be my assailant.

I felt his hand on my shoulder and heard more voices, though I couldn't make out the words. Then the world went black.


	4. Ch 4 - Not Cupid

Glenn's POV

"Oh no." I whispered as I watched the arrow hit it's mark. The girl. She stood there for a long second. Then she fell to her knees. _God no! We killed her!_ From this distance, it appeared to have hit her heart. I began running towards her. _Why is she so far away?_

As I ran closer, I saw her look up at me. _Good, she's still alive!_ She coughed and spit something out. _Please don't let that be blood!_ I couldn't tell the color from this distance, so all I could do was hope and pray.

She stood, leaning against the tree. She reached up and broke the arrow. Then she turned and ran. _What is she doing? Why would she run away? Does she think that we shot her intentionally?_ I reached the tree she had been leaning against. I searched around the forest floor. I know I had to get to her, and help her. _But I have to know._ Then, I saw it. _Blood and spit._ She had coughed up blood. _She needs medical attention now!_

I began running again. She was not that far ahead, and she was not going very fast or straight. I looked back, hoping to see Daryl, but he wasn't there. _Maybe he's getting help._ I tried to be optimistic.

She tripped; I was almost there. She tried to get up and fell. I knelt down next to her.

"You need to lie still. Help is coming." She attempted to look at me as I placed my hand on her shoulder. Tears were streaming down her face yet she made no sound. _What a strong woman._ "DARYL!" I screamed once she passed out.

No response. I took a deep breath. _You can do this._ I told myself. I bent over, slid my arms under her legs and back, lifted, and began my trek back to camp.


	5. Ch 5 - Guilt

**Glenn's POV**

My eyes skimmed over the mysterious woman's face. Her dark brown hair had been taken down by one of the women that had changed and cleaned her. It fell around her face in waves. It was no longer the dull, dirty color it had been when he first found her in the woods. It shone a beautiful coppery color. Her heart shaped face was no longer covered in grime. I could easily see her high cheekbones that gave her an elegant look. Her rosebud shaped lips and petite, upturned nose added to her beauty. Her thick, black lashes rested against her pink cheeks.

I was thankful the color was returning. She had been so pale. Luckily, we have been able to avoid infection, but she still lost a lot of blood. This is the third day she's been unconscious. My gaze strayed to her wound. It had clipped a lung causing blood to get in. Hershel had patched her up and gotten the blood out, but I was still worried. I looked away from the wound. My eyes landed on her slim neck and sculpted collarbones. _Now, she would have a scar on her flawless skin._ I thought. Even though she was pale as it was, the scar would still be noticeable. Guilt crept up.

"Glenn?" I looked up at the sound of my name being called. It was Rick. He was standing just inside of the tent's opening. "You need to eat." I looked back at the girl.

"I'm fine." I replied.

"It wasn't a question."

"It was a fact." I stated. "One that I am choosing to ignore. I don't care if it is stupid. I just can't eat right now."

"Fine. Let me rephrase." He walked over to me. "You are going to eat." I kept my eyes glued to her.

"No."

"Glenn-"

"No. I am staying here. I won't eat. Can't eat." A pause. "Not until she wakes."

"Why?" I looked at him. "Why can't someone else watch her? Why can't you eat?"

"Because it's my fault. I can't leave until I know she is okay. I can't eat because of the guilt." I looked at the ground, now unable to look at her too.

"But it's not your fault."

"Yes it is. I may not have been the one to pull the trigger, but I could have stopped him. I could have done something. I tried. I tried and failed." I took in a calming breath. _I feel so useless._ I thought glancing back at her wound. "Now, I will stay by her in case something changes. I'm going to help."

"You're not going to be any help if you pass out because your stubbornness got in the way." With that he left. I sighed. I continued to stare at her. As I looked, I began to notice scars all over her. Some were small and shallow, while others were bigger and deeper. None of them were as bad as the new wound that would most definitely leave a scar. Well, as least none that were showing.

Rick came back into the tent breaking me from my thoughts. I realised it must have been near an hour because the light angle had changed. I turned to see what he wanted. It wasn't Rick. It was Daryl. He had his usual stone cold expression on. He was also holding two plates of food. He walked over and sat down on the chair next to me. He held out one of the plates. I looked at it. There was a piece of cooked fish, a couple scoops of canned beans, a piece of bread, and a fork.

"If you don't eat it willingly, I will shove it down your throat." Daryl spoke in a way that I didn't doubt he would. I took it reluctantly and began eating, starting with the fish. After I had finished it all, Daryl pulled the canteen off his belt, took a couple drinks, then handed it to me. Again, I took it reluctantly. After we were both done, we sat there in silence. Neither of us wanting to talk.

I glanced at Daryl. He no longer had his hard, stone look plastered on. Instead, guilt and sorrow had taken over. His shoulders were slumped in a defeated look, and he was completely still. His eyes were on the girl. His thoughts, who knows. I looked back at her and wondered what he must feel being the one who pulled the trigger.


	6. Ch 6 - Instinct

**Alex's POV**

The first thing I noticed was the horrific pain in my chest and shoulder. Second thing was how dry my mouth was. I peeled my eyes open and saw blue. It wasn't the sky; it was too vibrant. _A tent? I am not in my camp. So where am I?_ My breathing increased as well as my heart rate. I moved my hand to rub my face, which had become a habit of mine when I tried to calm myself down, yet I found it was weighted down. Just my right hand though. My left was perfectly mobile, other than being under a blanket. _Strange. Why would they constrict one hand? Unless my injuries are more severe than I previously thought._

I rubbed my face with my left hand, then snuck a glanced down preparing for the worst. It was, in fact, not injured or being restrained the way I had previously thought. There was a head and an arm on it. _Why does it seem familiar?_ I thought as I studied the olive toned skin and short, black hair. Though, their face was turned away, it was obvious it was a male. I observed his muscular back and arm. I attempted to move my hand again. This time I slowly slide it out from under his sleeping head. Once free, the pins and needles sensation began. _Figures._

I placed both hands beside me in attempts to push myself up. As I rose, I did so carefully and slowly to not wake the man. I bit my bottom lip. The pain in my right shoulder had increased dramatically. _Am I tasting blood?_ My right arm felt like it was going to collapse, so I locked my elbow hoping that would be efficient. It worked. Once I was sitting up, I took the pressure off my arms. I steadied my breathing. It felt as though breathing too hard would alert everyone I was awake. _Who knows how many are out there and what they'll do?_

I slipped the blanket off carefully. Only then did I notice, I was not wearing my clothes. _Damn them. They took my clothes._ A quick glance around proved that mine were not in here. _Great, now I have to go find them. They're lucky I'm not as offended as Skippy._ Then it dawned on me. _If they took my clothes, they've got my knives too._ I clenched my jaw in anger. _What now? Think. Come up with a plan._

That was when the mystery man decided to wake up. He groaned as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes and did a double take when he saw me. "Oh! I'm so gla-" I grabbed him by the throat with my left hand and shoved off the bed. I knocked the air out of him as we landed.

"Where am I? What do you want with me? Where are my clothes and weapons? Who are you?" I whispered harshly. He gasped for breath. I loosened enough for him to breath, but I pressured it enough he couldn't talk loudly. As he caught his breath and processed my questions, I studied him. He was asian. He had dark brown eyes, and a slim but ever so slightly crooked nose. He full lips yet a small mouth that made them seem bigger. His face was round but defined. "Answer me." I pushed, frustrated that I found him attractive.

"You were injured." He started.

"I gathered that. Where are my weapons?" I interrupted.

"With Rick." _One guy? I'll take care of him._

"Clothes?" I inquired.

"Being washed."

"Where am I?"

"Our camp." _Dur._ I scolded myself.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"To save you." At that I squeezed instinctively. _Great another guy that thinks I need saving._ "You had blood in your lungs." I loosened my grip. "You were dying." _Oh. That kind of save._

"One last question. Where is Rick?"

"I don't know." I narrowed my eyes. "He's not too happy with me."

"Hm." I stared at him for another moment. When I decided he was telling the truth, I released him and stood up. He gasped loudly and rubbed his neck.

"Thanks for not killing me." I walked towards the opening. I peered out. It was earlier than I thought it was. The sun was barely coming over the trees.

"Fifteen minutes."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't wake anyone for fifteen minutes."

"Wha-?"

"I'll get my weapons and be long gone by then." I stepped out cautiously.

"Where do you think you're going?" A gruff voice spoke from behind me.


	7. Ch 7 - Deal

**Alex's POV**

I spun around at the voice, and I spun swinging. _I don't care who they are. He didn't sound too friendly. He's not stopping me from getting home._ My fist connected with his jaw. He stumbled back, shook his head, and a dangerous gleam appeared in his eyes. I knew that look. It was the same one Drake got when he was enjoying a fight. I instinctively went for my knives. _Damn it. Good think Skippy insisted I learn hand to hand combat._ I crouched slightly and widened my stance for better balance and mobility. I clenched both my fists and took deep breaths as I raised them.

"Oh." He rolled his neck. Stretched and clenched his hands. He smirked as he spoke. "You wanna play?" The stare down began.

"Wait!" The guard burst out. _Not much of a guard, but why else would he be in there?_ "Daryl don't." Neither of us broke eye contact as he pleaded with him.

"She hit me."

"She's injured and in a new place. What do you expect? How would you react?"

"How would they react if I started punching people?" he shifted. I waited. "Just let me play for a bit, Glenn. I won't kill her." At that I snorted. _Arrogant son of a bitch._ He cocked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I'd like to see you try, you arrogant bastard." I spoke slowly and enunciated. Just as I hoped, he lost the smirk. _He and Drake are a lot alike. Same reaction. Wonder if it'll have the same effect?_

"Daryl-" The Glenn character placed a hand on the Daryl character's arm drawing his eyes away for a split second. It was just the distraction I was looking for. I charged. I came forward with my left foot and right fist hitting him in the nose. Glenn jumped back and that was the last I noticed of him. While Daryl's head was coming forward, I brought my right leg up in a roundhouse kick knocking him to the ground. _Yep, his anger and distraction is slowing him down just enough._

Before I could deal another blow, my feet were knocked out from under me. I landed on my wounded shoulder. I grunted in pain though I wanted to scream. Because of the pain, my reaction was delayed and he jumped on me. He hit me across my right cheek. I felt my skin split. I brought my left arm up blocking what would have been his second blow. I brought up my left knee into his stomach knocking the air out of him. With those extra seconds, I kicked him off. He landed on his back. I jumped up ready for his next move.

He was up almost as quickly. We stared for another couple seconds. During that I notice a small cut on his jaw and blood dripping from his nose. _So I did break skin on that first hit._ I felt the blood dripping from my cheekbone. I ignored it as I rushed him. He came at me swinging. I ducked and hit him in the same spot my knee had hit. _Bet that's sore._ I felt his elbow come down on my back. I collapsed. I grabbed behind his knees and jerked causing him to tumble backwards.

I jumped on top of him. He grabbed ahold of both my arms and attempted to flip us. I used his momentum to flip us back. We began rolling around and struggling. I, trying to free my arms. Him, trying to keep me captive. I pulled the right one free and whipped the back of my elbow across his face. Then I dealt another blow across his jaw bringing my fist back. even though it hurt like hell. As I wound up for another one, he threw a wild hit. I attempted to dodge it, but it landed on my injured shoulder. I yelled in pain. I was blinded for a moment, giving him enough of an advantage to flip us and pin me.

I was gasping for breath when he leaned in and said, "Oops." _I've had enough._ "Looks like playtime is over." I was sick of his bullshit, so I brought up my knee as hard as I could into his groin.

When he froze and let out a very unmanly squeak, I said, "Oops." Then, I pushed him off and stood. I was breathing heavily when I noticed there were others in my presence. I spun, and sure enough, there were a whole lot of people. _What a bad time to be without my knives._ My legs trembled slightly, and I willed them to steady. _Guess that hit did a lot more than I thought._ Luckily, the one who looked like he posed the biggest threat was still groaning on the ground. Then I noticed another guy who could be a hassle. He was also standing next to Glenn.

"You two done?" The man standing next to Glenn spoke. He had a voice of authority. _Former police officer? Guy currently in charge? Rick guy Glenn was talking about?_

"Depends." I said, hoping to sound tough, but it came across as breathless.

"No." I glanced back and Daryl was on his hands and knees. I smiled. "Just let me." Deep breath. "Catch my breath."

I turned back to the crowd. "You Rick?" I gestured with my head towards him. He crossed his arms.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Why?" _Typical._

"Alright, _Rick_." I emphasized to show I wasn't buying his 'not giving any answers' crap. Give me my weapons and clothes, and I'll leave. I won't hurt anyone else." I lowered my hands to show I was sincere.

"I ain't that hurt. Just caught off guard with that low blow. Which is a pussy move by the way." Daryl interjected.

"And targeting an injury isn't?" I shot back without turning. "So," I began, speaking to Rick again. "Do we have a deal?"

"Sure." I smiled. _Finally._

"What?!" Daryl exclaimed.

"With some conditions." I cocked my head, a silent inquiry. "Let us patch you up and give you a meal." He paused. _What is the catch?_

"What? Are you crazy?" We both ignored him.

"How long is patching me up going to take?"

"Until you're fully or mostly healed."

"Why do you want to help me recover? I just beat one of your guys ass."

"I beg to differ." Daryl said again. Now, it sounded like he was standing. I tensed.

"Because he was the one who shot you."

"Oh." I thought about it for a moment. "So you owe me."

"I'm kind of reconsidering." Daryl was getting closer. I took a step to the left and spun so he was in my peripheral vision.

"Why would I choose your care over my own group's?"

"Do they have a doctor and advanced medical supplies?" I didn't answer. _We have a doctor, but limited supplies._ "Also, who knows where they are now? You've been out for days." _Shit._ _Days?_ "You don't want to be out there wandering and wounded."

"Good point." _He's right._ "Alright, what's the catch?"

"No catch."

"No there has got to be something in it for you."

"You help us hunt." Daryl spoke.

"I think that is the first intelligent thing you have said." I turned my head towards him as I spoke. I looked back at Rick. "You let me have my stuff back and allow me to have my knives on me at all times and you have a deal."

"No more fighting with anyone, unless it is purely training, and I have the right to step in stop it if I think it has ulterior motives and we have a deal."

I took a step forward. "Deal." I held my hand out.

He shook it as he said, "Deal."

At that moment, most of the tension slipped out. I began feeling dizzy. Glenn stepped forward about to say something, but I cut him off. "You better get to patching me up soon." Confusion passed over their faces, but I couldn't say anything else. My legs gave out and the world went black again.


	8. Ch 8 - Weak or Strong?

**Glenn's POV**

 _Here I am again._ I thought as I sat in the same chair watching her. I sighed and hung my head.

"Moping around won't change my condition." My head snapped up. She eyes were still closed, but she was awake. Her face was scrunched in pain as she shifted. After a moment, her eyes slowly opened. I held my breath as she looked me up and down. "How long was I out?"

"Oh, um..About a day." It had taken me a moment to respond. Her eyes were honey colored; this was the first time I was able to get a good look at them. They were as pretty as they were piercing. It felt like she could see right into my soul. I took a deep breath. _What the hell has come over me?_

"Great." She closed her eyes again. _What do I say? Should I say_ something? "Ya got something to say, kid?" _Kid?_

"No." I mumbled. She was looking at me again. One of her eyebrows rose.

"Okay." She moved her arms to a position with the intention of sitting up. "Mind helping me, kid?" _Why does she keep calling me that?_

"You shouldn't be moving around. You should be rest-"

"I'm going to get up. No matter how much you protest. Either you can lecture me or help me." I shut my mouth. "I'd prefer the latter."

"Fine." I mumbled. I reached over and slipped my arm under her back gently easing her up. I released her when she swung her legs over the edge. As she stood, a grimace of pain flashed across her face but was soon gone. When she began swaying, I quickly put my arm around her waist. She gripped my shirt, taking a deep breath.

"I feel old." Her grip tightened. "I hate this. I can't even stand without having help." Her voice shook. I knew I could tell her she shouldn't have pushed herself that much the other day when she fought Daryl. I knew I could have told her that she would heal soon. I could have told her many things. But, I knew she didn't want to hear it. So, I did something I didn't think I'd ever do. I hugged her.

At first, she stiffened, and I thought she was going to push me away. She didn't. She melted against me. She didn't make a sound, but I felt her tears on my shoulder. She wrapped one arm around me and gripped the back of my shirt. I wanted to hold her tighter, but I also didn't want to hurt her. I stroked her hair instead. I don't know how long we stood there, before she broke the silence.

"Do you think they left me?" She said into my shirt. It took me a moment to realise who she was talking about. _What do I say?_

"Are they your friends?" I said finally. She looked up at me.

"Practically family."

"What kind of family leaves family?" She chewed her lower lip. Then nodded.

"Thanks." She whispered as she stepped away. She took a deep breath and began a slow walk to the closing of the tent. I followed close behind in case she couldn't handle it. Right before opening the entrance, she looked back.

"Sorry for calling you kid." She smiled. _Wow._ I thought as I felt my heart speed up. "You're not such a kid after all."

 **...**

 **A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. Midterms are this week and next week. I will be sure to update more once the new semester starts. Love you guys. Thanks for being patient and reading!**


	9. Ch 9 - Tension

**A/N: Oh look! I finally wrote a new chapter! Yay. Thanks for being so patient. I love you all. Enjoy.**

 **~Alex~**

I watch closely as Daryl takes apart various guns, cleans them, and reassembles them. I find it particularly interesting that he is the one cleaning them when he uses a crossbow. He glances around every few minutes. _Watching for geeks, most likely._ I stand perfectly still in his blind spot. My breathing is at a low and shallow rate. It has been ten minutes, and he has still not seen me. It is a game I played with my group. I was always the best at it. They claimed it was because I was so small.

"Daryl!" Someone calls. He turns to see who it is. When he sees me, he almost falls off the stump he had been sitting on. I smirk and am about to make a comment when Carl bursts through the trees. "Daryl!"

"What?!" He snaps.

"There're people. More people! My dad told me to get you. He said he's gonna need you in case they're hostile." At that, Daryl jumps up and follows Carl. I grab a gun he'd already cleaned and run after them. _Could it be my group? I'll shoot Drake._

When we got back to camp, it was silent. Everyone was gathered in a group. Rick, of course, was standing a few steps ahead of them. He was staring at whoever had just arrived. I couldn't see because of the tents placement, but I could hear.

"Look, all we want is to know if you have seen a small brunette. We won't cause you any trouble." I knew that voice. I dropped the gun and sprinted to the front of the group. "She was separated while we were out hunting a few weeks ago, and-"

"Skippy!" I ran up and hugged him.

"Alex!" He embraced me and laughed in a grandfatherly way. "What happened?"

"I was injured, and they found me. They nursed me back to health and let me stay." I explained. I glanced at who Skippy brought with him. In his old age, he never left alone. _Rocky, Evan, Mari, and-_ "Drake." I growled.

"Nice to see you again, Tiny." He smirked making his cheek scar wrinkle. I wanted to rip his face off.

"Come here, asshat!" I grabbed a knife and stepped towards him.

"Hold up." Skippy grabbed my arm. "We'll deal with this later." Drake smiled bigger, but somehow I managed to turn around.

"How can we thank you?" Skippy directed at Rick, who looked like he had just read the first couple books of Pandora's Hearts.

"Uh, how about we have dinner? I have somethings I want to discuss with you."

"Sure! Sounds great." Skippy followed Rick to the fire pit, and the two groups merged. I slipped away, almost in a run towards the woods.

 **~Glenn~**

 _Well that could have ended badly._ I thought. I hadn't seen Alex that tense since the first day she was here. Even then, she hadn't been that angry. What had that guy Drake done? I watched the huge man. He was covered in scars that only stuck out more with his tanned skin. His long dark hair was tied back with what looked like a shoe lace. The scruff just added to his intimidation factor. He looked like he took down walkers with his bare hands, but the bow on his back and quiver on his hip said otherwise.

When Rick led Skippy away, the groups mixed together. There was an African woman who carried a giant double sided ax across her shoulders. She looked like she was constantly posing for a magazine with her wrists resting on the handle. There was a blonde midget who was covered in denim and didn't appear to be carrying any weapons. And finally, a red head who looked like he spent _way_ too much time in the gym who carried two spiked maces.

Alex jogging to the edge of camp caught my eye. Without hesitation, I went after her. I waited until I was close enough she could hear me without yelling to call out. "Alex." She spun and suddenly a knife was pointed at my nose.

"Glenn." She whispered and lowered her blade. "Haven't you learned not to sneak up on me yet?" I smiled as I thought of the time she pressed one against my neck - I had been way too close. I touched the indent on my left ear remembering when she threw one and it nearly took my ear off - I had been farther away that time.

"Nope. But I have learned what distance to keep in order to get the least amount of injuries." She laughed softly.

"You're a dork." I shrugged and looked at the ground. _What is up with me? Am I seriously getting a crush in the middle of a zombie apocalypse?_ "Now what did you need so bad to almost get your cute nose taken off."

"Cute?" My head snapped up.

"Small. Small nose. Tiny nose. Your ity bity nose." Alex's cheeks flushed, and she turned around. "Wh-what did you want?" She slowly walked further into the woods. I decided to let it drop, but I couldn't help a small smile as I caught up to her.

"I was wondering what happened between you and Drake." She stopped. Her face hardened. No more cute blush. No more stuttering.

"He left me." Jealously rose in me quickly. _How could anyone not want her? Wait, she liked him? Her and him?_ "He left me to die." And just like that it was gone. Oh, that kind of left. Idiot. "When you and Daryl shot me in the woods-"

"Daryl shot you." I interjected.

"Just maybe an hour before that, Drake had left me in the woods to fend off 14 walkers. He claimed we wouldn't get out alive without a distraction, and to him that means someone has to die. They feast and the other gets away. He had done it before. So when he said that I knew I'd have to fight him and the walkers to survive. Unfortunately, I didn't win. And he left me to die."

"Damn. I'm sorry, Alex."

"I'll be fine. Just need to blow off some steam." She shrugged.

"Why don't you tell Skippy? Get him out of your group? He can't act like that."

"No." She shook her head. "Our group isn't touchy feely like yours. It's every man and woman for themselves. If you get someone killed, it's their fault, too. You have a beef with someone, fight it out. And if one of you ends up dead, just smash the skull. The only reason we travel together is because it's convenient for everyone. People can come and go as they please. Only rules are: keep the noise and light low. Also, no guns or explosives."

"That's crazy." I shook my head. "Chaotic."

"What do ya expect?" Alex shrugged again. "We're criminals. We don't trust anybody." _Criminals?_


	10. Ch 10 - Criminals

**~Glenn~**

 _Criminals?!_ Before I could get the words out to ask her what she meant, a twig snapped. We both went into survival mode. Our backs pressed against each other, we listened and watched. Leaves crunched to the north of camp. Whatever it was, it was coming from the deep woods, which usually meant walkers. My heart sped up with the anticipation. Alex rotated us so that she was facing the sounds. I reached for my machete, but it wasn't there. I was unarmed. _Great._

I turned so that I was next to Alex. Her eyes were searching the woods. More shuffling but nothing was visible. It just made me more nervous. A light groan was heard as a human form moved out from behind a tree. My breath caught in my throat. _Shit. A walker._ I reached for Alex's hand. She gave it a light squeeze then released it. She moved away from me silently.

I watched anxiously as she crept up on it. Once Alex was twenty feet, she aimed and wound up to throw. The walker looked at her and moaned. She snapped her arm forward in a blur. The knife went through it's head and stuck to the tree behind it. The walker fell to the ground with a light thud. Alex retrieved her knife and wiped it off with a handkerchief in her pocket. She walked up to me.

"I'm going to teach you how to throw knives." She walked towards camp.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"You need some kind of skill. Might as well be in something I can teach you."

"Why do you have to teach me?"

"Because no one else in your group cares enough to teach you anything."

"Why do you care about me? I thought you weren't touchy feely. Aren't you supposed to be a hardened criminal?" I threw the last part out as a tease.

"No one should be as helpless as you."

"I'm not helpless!" I protested.

"Yes, you are." She laughed. "Don't worry. You won't be for long." I sighed and gave up. She was a mystery, but that was part of the fun.

 **~Alex~**

I shook my head at Glenn's horrible attempt at throwing a knife. He held it with his entire hand and didn't test the balance. He couldn't spin it properly to save his life, but he had the arm strength and the determination to learn. I held back laughter as he missed a target ten feet away. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Okay. I take back what I said." He turned to me. "It's a lot harder than it looks."

"Mhm." I nodded. "How will you ever learn? Maybe if there was someone who knew how and was willing to teach you."

"Alex," He stared at me with pleading eyes. "Will you please teach me how to throw knives properly?" I smiled.

"Of course." I stepped over to where he was standing. "Now, the first rule is to know your knife." I pulled out my oldest knife and handed it to him. "Feel how it's weighted. Toss it a few times to get a feel for how it flies. Find it's center of balance."

After he played around with it a few times, I spoke up again. "Okay. Holding the knife. You only want to use a few fingers. Use too many and you're crowding it. It will ruin your aim and spin. Plus, it's just easier to let go of it when you have less fingers holding it." I showed him the proper form of holding the knife for a basic over the shoulder throw.

"Next, you have to keep it straight and let it spin as you release it. You have to do it fast and strong." I demonstrated, hitting the tree dead on. Bark broke off around where the knife hit.

"Now, you try." He held the knife up, adjusted, and threw. It bounced off the tree. He hung his head. "You didn't throw hard enough."

"Okay. I'll try again." He retrieved the knife and set up again.

Several hours later, I put a hand on his shoulder. Sweat had plastered his hair to his face and was staining his shirt. He was out of breath and shaking. The knife dropped to the ground.

"I can do it." He turned to look at me. I smiled and nodded.

"But not in one day." I picked up the knife and wiped off the dirt. I pulled out my old leather holder. I slipped it inside then grabbed Glenn's belt. I pulled him closer and snapped the holder onto his belt. I looked up at his brown eyes twinkle in excitement. "It's yours."

"Wow. Thank you."


End file.
